Momenti Nella Vita
by moonbeard
Summary: "Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away." It's these moments that turn two unlikely people from strangers to friends to lovers. KuroganexFai Three-shot. Disclaimer: I don't own anything.


Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicles

**Part 1: **Strangers

Kurogane (25)/Fai (21)

_128 times_

Kurogane pulled out a little white sheet from under the tip jar, grabbed the pen from his pocket, and added another tally as his crimson eyes subtly followed the regular newcomer. The blond freed his feathery locks from his white fur-lined hood. He closed his eyes and visibly took a deep inhale. A smile appeared on the fair-skinned male and he opened his eyes to the world once more.

_Like sapphires_ he thought absently.

Now, Kurogane wasn't gay. He'd never thought of a man in a sexual way. In fact, just the thought of it made Kurogane want to scrunch his nose up in discomfort, but you'd have to be blind not to admit that he was very…pretty.

Kurogane lightly blushed at the thought and subconsciously his eyes again sought out the blond who was seated at his usual table located next to one of the four large windows at the front of The Cat's Eye café.

Today, he was wearing a light blue, long sleeved shirt and white jeans. The heavy white coat he was wearing earlier was draped over the back of his chair. The fair-skinned man crossed his legs daintily, rested his head in his hands, and then watched people struggle through the snow with a solemn expression.

_He always does the same thing…. Just stares at people…_

Kurogane watched as Sakura walked over to the blond. She was a brown-haired, green-eyed, sixteen-year-old. The part-time waitress had a heart of gold and was currently chatting up a storm with the young man.

"You know, Kurogane. I'm not really sure if I approve of your new hobby," a smooth voice commented.

"What new hobby?" Kurogane asked. He didn't have to turn to realize that his long black-haired cousin was talking to him.

"…Stalking that blond."

Kurogane whipped around and faced red eyes similar to his own. "I am NOT stalking him," he stated before picking up his forgotten rag on the counter and furiously started scrubbing the clean counter.

_I'm not stalking him...I'm...I'm...dammit I'm NOT stalking him._

"Oh yeah? How many times has he been here?"

As if he was actually going to tell her.

"128 times? Wow. You've been watching him for a while," she said slightly impressed.

Kurogane blinked twice as he realized what had just come from her mouth. He whipped towards her and saw the little sheet of paper that he kept for recording the blond's appearances. He snatched it from her with a furious blush on his face and stuffed it in his pocket. He'd have to find a different spot to hide it now. A chuckle emanated from the woman next to him.

"Oh shut the hell up, Yuko! Aren't you supposed to be making orders?"

"Language, Kurogane. And I would be, but I haven't received any."

Kurogane looked near the cash register where the waitresses would place their sheets of paper. Three were already in the small container.

"… Coulda sworn there weren't any last time I checked," he muttered.

"Which was probably before your target walked in," she contributed.

The ebony-haired man blushed as he realized that Yuko was staring at him with a sly, knowing smile. He looked away and thrust the three sheets of paper in her face. Another chuckle escaped the elegant cook before she returned to her kitchen. As soon as she was gone, Kurogane closed his eyes and scowled. He ran a hand through his spiky hair, a well- known stress reliever and sometimes nervous gesture.

Yuko could be very annoying when she wanted to be, but generally she was a kind person. Because of her kindness, Kurogane had been able to find a suitable place for him and his little sister, Tomoyo, to stay, while she went to school. In return for lodging on the second floor of the Cat's Eye café, she asked for rent. In order to defray the expenses, Kurogane took up a job at her café as the cashier/ "errand boy" and he gave Kendo lessons in the capacious backroom that used to function as a storage room. Before Yuko came along, the building used to belong to Yuko's grandfather. When he was on his deathbed, he left the place to Yuko and she transformed it into the café it was today.

The Cat's Eye, located in the middle of the city, was a well-known establishment. It was a bit large for a café, but it didn't lose its cozy feel.

Kurogane opened his eyes and looked around the shop. The décor was modern. On the left, there were a bunch of round tables with a few rectangular ones bordering the walls. On the right, there was the fireplace, the lounge area, made up of many comfortable chairs and a couch (Kurogane had gotten to know that couch personally when he was too tired to go up to his own bed), a bookcase, and an ebony Steinway. Nobody on staff could play, but Yuko thought it completed the look.

"Yuuuuuuuuko!" a high pitched voice yelled.

"Yukooooooo!" an equally annoying voice yelled.

Kurogane resisted the urge to roll his eyes.

_The brats are here_

Soel and Larg. Yuko adopted the twins when they were babies. She had felt "ancient" when they started to call her mom, so she taught them to call her by her name. The eight-year-olds liked to stop by the café spontaneously. It was safe since they only lived a five minute walk away.

Yuko walked out quickly with three dishes balanced on one arm and a hot chocolate in her hand.

"Sakura, Caldina, Himawari. Could one of you get these for me?" she asked.

She placed the dishes on the counter in front of Kurogane before taking the barreling black-haired boy into her arms.

"Hello there, Larg," Kurogane heard the alto voice say, "And where is your sister?"

"EEEEEK!"

Heads snapped to the girl who was now hanging off the blonde's arm.

"It's Fai! Oh Fai, you gotta meet my family!"

Kurogane watched silently as Soel dragged the nervously smiling blonde towards them, surprise only showing in his eyes.

_How does the creampuff know him?_

"This is Larg. He's my twin brother and partner in crime. This is Yuko, my mom, but she doesn't like to be called mom because it makes her feel old. You can talk to Fai in a second, Yuko," she told the woman who attempted to say something. Soel continued to tug the man to another person. "This is Sakura. She is so nice. That's Himawari. Her hair is soo long! She's teaching me how to knit. That's Caldina. I have white hair like hers except my hair isn't really mine. The last time I saw you my hair was black, but I didn't like looking exactly like Larg because Soel is Soel, so I dyed my hair white. Yuko wasn't too happy, but Soel loves it. Anyways,"

Kurogane tuned the white-haired girl out and found himself content with observing Soel haul "Fai" around, introducing him to the busboy, the calm and often sarcastic Shizuka Doumeki; the assistant cook, the mainly friendly, very irritable Kimihiro Watanuki; and the unsuspecting mailman. He shut his eyes, crossed his arms, and leaned against the wall behind him.

"Hello, everyone! I'm Fai D. Flowright. It's nice to meet you all. I met Soel a couple of weeks ago," a smooth, wispy like voice said.

An affirmative noise came from the creampuff, then her voice became bashful, "I got separated from my class on a field trip at the museum, but Fai found me crying and brought me back!"

_Dumb creampuff! He could've been a kidnapper for all she knew. Or worse, a rapist!_

Kurogane was having serious troubles trying to imagine him as either though.

"And who is this tall, dark figure?"

"Oh," Soel chimed, "This is—"

"—Kurogane" interrupted said person.

He opened his eyes and met those stunning cerulean orbs. Fai's smile disappeared and his eyes slightly widened as he stared at Kurogane. Kurogane slightly raised his eyebrow at the quick change of emotion. In the next second, A small smile emerged on Fai's face and widened a little bit before vanishing altogether. Fai raised his hands to his hips while shaking his head and tutting.

"No, that won't do," he said.

"Hm?" Kurogane questioned.

_'That won't do' he says... That won't do? what the hell?_

"How about...Kuro-pu?" he chirped with a smile.

The café went nearly dead silent as Kurogane's co-workers looked towards the two with bated breath. The only talk was coming from the other three customers sitting at the tables, but even they quited down when they noted the lack of movment from the rest of the occupants of the cafe. A recurring eyebrow twitch was the only sign of annoyance from Kurogane.

"No? What about Kurgie?" he suggested.

_He has the nerve to come in here and butcher my name like some...NAME MURDERER and act as if we've known each other long enough for him to do that..._

"Oooh Kurgie! Kurgie!" Larg shouted bounding over to his sister.

_And he's got the fuzzball started..._

The twitching increased.

"That sounds so cute, Fai!"

"I thought so as well, Soel. I like Kuro-puro too."

_I've observed this guy 128 times _

"Kuro-puro, Kuro-puro" the black haired boy sang.

_What the **fuck** did I find so fascinating?_

"DAMMIT! My name is KUROGANE!"

KxF

A/N: I adore this pairing! I have no idea when I'm going to update the next chapter (cause I am horrible at updating and I'm about to go off to college), but reviews do help me go faster. Revew please!

P.S It'll match up to the M rating in chapter 3


End file.
